Another QB Runs Over UConn

[bullwark]

Grothe Rushes For 3 Touchdowns

By SHAWN COURCHESNE

Courant Staff Writer

October 8 2006

TAMPA, Fla. -- Last November at Rentschler Field a pesky, overachieving UConn team dashed South Florida's hopes of going to a BCS bowl with a five-point victory.

It was a game that seemed to set the tone for the Huskies' future. Maybe they were ready to challenge for a mid-range finish in the Big East come 2006.

Saturday in Tampa, the Bulls stampeded their way to revenge, in the process virtually ensuring that any remaining UConn hopes for a bowl game can be couched for another year.

South Florida dominated the Huskies in all facets, rolling to a 38-16 victory before 30,010 at Raymond James Stadium in UConn's Big East opener.

For the second consecutive week the UConn defense allowed a quarterback to run wild. This time it was South Florida's Matt Grothe. The freshman carried the Bulls (4-2, 1-1), rushing for three touchdowns and finishing with 82 yards on 15 carries. In the air, he went 12 of 15 for 146 yards with a touchdown. He sat out most of the fourth quarter.

"He's a very good player, and we didn't do a very good job of defending him," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "It was plays that we ran all week long [in practice]."

The Huskies (2-3) left Tampa staring down at a schedule that doesn't lend itself to thoughts of reaching the six-win mark that would make them bowl eligible.

"We've got a lot of work to do, and we'll continue to work hard," Edsall said. "It's just one of those things where we've got to take a look at a lot of different things and see what we can do to help them get better. That's what we'll do."

For the second game in a row, the UConn defense dug a hole early and the offense couldn't climb out. A blocked punt on UConn's first offensive series set up a USF touchdown less than three minutes into the game, then South Florida scored on its next drive to open a 14-0 lead.

"The thing that is frustrating is the fact that we worked on the look that they gave us and we just didn't execute it," Edsall said. "What they did offensively, we worked against that all week and we're just not executing well enough to stop people.

"We're not a good enough team to play from behind like that, that far from behind. We're just not a good catch-up team. What we have to do is try to keep the game in check a little bit and keep it in balance and work to try to get ahead of people."

After getting in the early trouble, the momentum appeared to be swinging in the Huskies' favor as they closed out the first half.

They cut a 14-0 deficit to 14-9 late in the second quarter and looked to have found a way to stop the South Florida offense.

But Grothe proved they weren't about to contain him. He used his feet and his arm to march South Florida 57 yards in six plays for a touchdown to start the second half and take away any thoughts UConn had of rallying.

The drive was keyed by Grothe's 31-yard pass over the middle to a wide-open S.J. Green to put the Bulls at the UConn 8. Two plays later Grothe put a great fake on defensive end Dan Davis before running in from the 8 with 12:24 left in the third quarter, putting South Florida ahead, 21-9.

"We have to come out and execute. It's a 60-minute game," Edsall said. "We had a blown coverage on the deep pass. We have a blown coverage with somebody again not executing the call. We have to become more disciplined, and we have to become more conscious of making sure that we execute properly."

UConn stalled on its next drive, and Grothe showed that once he had regained the momentum he wasn't about to let it go. He led a 10-play, 93-yard drive that ended with him going in from the 6 with 5:46 left in the third quarter. His third rushing touchdown of the game put the Bulls ahead, 28-9.

"We started to build momentum, and going into the second half we came out flat," UConn senior defensive end Rhema Fuller said. "It's two weeks in a row that we let an offense score on the first possession of the game and the first possession of the second half. We can't have that."

Grothe extended the lead to 35-9, hitting Amarri Jackson from 5 yards with 12:29 left in the game.

But the tone was set in the first quarter. The blocked punt put USF at the UConn 16 and Grothe ran in on first down to put the Bulls up 7-0 with 12:16 left in the quarter. Grothe then led a four-play, 54-yard drive on the next possession that was capped with Benjamin Williams' 13-yard run to put South Florida ahead 14-0 with 9:13 to go in the first quarter.

UConn's Matt Nuzie missed a 24-yard field goal late in the first quarter and the extra point on UConn's first touchdown. Backup Graig Vicidomino came in to kick the 19-yard field goal, which deflected in off the upright to cut the South Florida lead to 14-9 at halftime.

"[Nuzie] wasn't getting the job done so we made a change," Edsall said. "We'll probably stay that way."